The Republican debate is just wrapping up as I write this.  Even though I am a libertarian, I like to pay attention to what is going on in the world.  Admittedly, it is a little bit of entertainment for me, even though I know these people can be very dangerous.

First off, I sure do miss the Republican debates of the last two presidential cycles.  It just isn’t the same without Dr. Paul…..Ron, that is.

By far the most entertaining was Donald Trump.  He got the attention right off the bat and he was really what made the whole thing worth watching.

I don’t agree with a lot of Trump’s views.  For a great businessman, his understanding of economics is terrible.  If he actually won the presidency, I could envision him being a total tyrant.

Still, I completely understand why Trump is leading in the polls.  He speaks his mind.  There is an aura of honesty in him that you just don’t get with anybody else.  The Fox News moderators were trying to drill him and make him look bad, and Trump just managed to turn it around on them.  If anything, the questions just helped strengthen him.

Jeb Bush was ok in responding to the questions, but he has some major problems.  His first major problem is that his last name is Bush.  His other major problems are his prior positions.  He is now trying to weasel his way out of supporting things such as Common Core.

John Kasich actually had a good night overall.  I am not really saying this from a libertarian standpoint, but just how I think others will perceive him.

I wasn’t impressed with Mike Huckabee.  He is just an older and more tired-out version of the same person who was there in his last presidential run.  The Republicans will be too scared to put out a nominee who is so socially conservative, as they should be.

Ben Carson had a decent night and came across as really likable.  I think he may have a problem when people become more familiar with his very social conservative views.  I am not discounting Carson yet.  He probably needs to show a little bit more emotion at some point though.

I was not at all impressed with Scott Walker.  I thought he would be one of the top contenders for the Republican nomination, but now I am having my doubts.  He just did not have a lot of great moments and came across rather stale.

Marco Rubio did not get a lot of time, but he actually came off pretty well, as I thought he would.  He knows how to talk a good game.  He actually did a few positive things for liberty when he was Speaker of the House in Florida.  From a libertarian standpoint, he would be a terrible president.  He is a war hawk like all of the rest of them.  After this debate, it would not surprise me to see Rubio go up in the polls.

Chris Christie is staking out the more liberal (in the modern political sense) wing of the party, along with Bush.  He was not all that impressive.  I have to say though that he was correct about entitlement spending.  It is a major problem that is not being addressed.

Ted Cruz was absolutely dull.  He did not seem to get a lot of time.  He will still probably keep a core of supporters who like his conservative positions.  Overall though, he was a dud.  His closing remarks were terrible.  Oh, he is going to defund Planned Parenthood as one of his first agenda items.  Way to go big there, Cruz.

Last is Rand Paul.  He was the most libertarian candidate on the stage, which is saying very little.  He continues to try to play both sides of the fence.  He just looks indecisive, which he is.  Everything is politically calculated.  He says we shouldn’t borrow from China to fund Israel.  But, according to Paul, it is ok to fund Israel as long as it is done with surplus money.  Way to take a bold stand there, Rand.

One thing I can be certain of is that I won’t be voting for any Republican or Democrat for president in 2016, if I vote at all.  I will still follow what is going on though.  I want to see how people want to rule over me.

Let’s all be thankful that Trump is in this race right now though.  He is the entertainment.  The rest of them were so boring by comparison.